Tales From My Inbox

October 4, 2011

4 minute read

You can imagine that I get a lot of emails asking for products to be featured on my blog. Which is great, of course. But there are ways and ways to ask. I’m always happy to get press releases and information, and even the odd phone call to see if I’m interested in featuring a particular product. To be honest, a phone call is even better; it shows me that the PR or brand in question has really thought of a reason why it is a relevant product for me to blog about and we can discuss accordingly. Sometimes I just outright say no, because it’s not right for my blog, or I don’t like the product. When you aren’t dictated to by advertisers, you have the luxury of making this choice. Other times, where I probably wouldn’t really have even looked twice at a product, having the relevancy pointed out really can change my mind. One or two PRs who I completely trust – and have the enlightened view of not loving absolutely everything their client churns out – almost always get their products mentioned simply because if they say it’s a good product, I believe them and I’ll give it a go. It’s totally not helpful when PR’s love absolutely everything because it means they can’t filter anything to suit me and I can’t rely on what they’re saying.

But, that’s not my bug-bear at the moment. What really is getting on my nerves, because I’m being literally bombarded with them, is contacts from Social Media Agencies with ‘video content’ and embeddable links, written content or *gasp* a free product all to entice and educate my readers. I don’t think so. I’ve changed my mind from back in the day where I wouldn’t accept a sponsored post, but I haven’t changed my principles. If I don’t like the product, I’m not going to post about it under any circumstances, paid or otherwise. But Social Media Agencies who take a nice fat fee from a brand with the promise that they’ll get the product seen across X number of blogs have totally lost touch with the reality of blogging today.

There are commercial opportunities for bloggers and it is up to the individual blogger to decide whether sponsored posts are for them or not. I just don’t really like this naïve assumption that in exchange for a toothbrush, say, I’d be thrilled to upload a video of myself or post on it in some way. For a toothbrush? But, in order to get the toothbrush, I need to commit to a video or post. Erm, no. No and no. And nor, for the record do I want to do a link exchange with someone with significantly less traffic than me because ‘they’re trying to get the word out about their product’ and while I’m on it, I don’t care that they’ve got a new competition on their Facebook page that they really, really think my readers would love. I’m not a free billboard. Really, I am fed up with being treated as a place to park products – that’s not what a blog is and blogs, or ‘weblogs, on line diaries, places to write what you really think and feel etc etc’, aren’t all about the placements. It’s time both SMAs and PRs stopped thinking of us as easy targets for coverage. But, it has to be said that bloggers need to have some rules, too, in order for that message to filter through. You don’t have to write about something just because it was free and you don’t have jump through hoops so someone else gets paid. But if you want to, that’s a whole other thing and entirely your choice.

The bottom line of it – and speaking completely honestly now – is that I will almost never consider using any of the links, competitions or products that come to me via this method of contact simply because of the unfair nature of ‘no budget’ for the blogger but plenty for the SMA.

This one will run and run I think; it calls into question blog ethics, SMAs vs PR and ultimately the very bigger picture is that people need jobs.. SMA is as good as any other. But, it’s so much in the HOW you do it and not in the WHY.

*all products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.

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21 comments

As always, you are spot on with your comments regarding the industry. I have the same issues. I get a lot of emails saying ‘we’d really like to work with you’ – a phrase I hate more than anything because it translates into ‘what can you do for us then?’. Argh! Most of the time agencies treat blogs like dumping grounds. And I don’t want mine to be a place where people feel they can do a bit of ‘fly-tipping’!You’re also SO right about PRs. The good ones get that blogging and social media operate by different rules. Sometimes I love a product and sometimes I hate it – and sometimes both will come from the same brand and PR. But I’m still expected to love EVERYTHING or shut up. But like you I started blogging to escape that kind of tyranny! Sheesh!

I’m so with you on this one. Brands don’t need to employ this kind of made up agency, who have inserted themselves into what they see as a gap in the market. And what is more distressing is that social media agencies actively target the charity market. Set up their twitter account for them for free dudes if you actually care – you know how easy it is.

Social media is EASY. That’s why million of people use it

I too beg bloggers not to become easy targets for parking lame content publicising a product/service for free. It’s not an exciting opportunity for anyone but them.

Please Social Media Agencies! Don’t send me any more “exciting opportunities” if you’re getting paid and I’m not. The end

As per Aisling’s comment, we’ve a bit of a jaundiced eye about SMAs for a long while, seeing them as a total third wheel who’ve inserted themselves in a new space between brands and bloggers who are often very innocent of how the media world works and who end up getting taken total advantage of as a result. The SMAs get PAID by the brand, they are not doing this out of the kindness of their hearts like bloggers are.

In addition, SMAs would NEVER try this stuff with established media channels and this is crucial to remember – they would be told to stuff it in an instant.

The blogger, the publisher, the person at the end of the chain doing all the work getting the word out to their readers, doesn’t get anything from the reach-out except for some empty witterings about ‘this would be a great opportunity for you’.

All bloggers need to learn to read that the other way around – unless there is something great on the table for what’s essential an advertisement, then it’s only an opportunity for the brand.

That is not a fair relationship and it’s not the normal PR one either – the SMA approach almost always involves doing something out of the norm – quite a lot usually – owing something which is often an added stress and anxiety for the blogger.

And you have to step back and cast a cold eye over a lot of this coverage it results in – a lot of it isn’t really of long-term use to a reader.

I’m aware that I am very selective about what I will and won’t feature. I think it’s really important you set rules for yourself and don’t feel guilty about sticking to them. After all for most people blogging is a hobby and you are paying for your own domain etc. I definitely agree that the relationship with a PR or the way in which you are approached makes a big difference.

Some of my least favourite lines are ‘I’m working for a well known UK beauty brand’. If it’s so well known, why don’t you just tell me who it is then?!

I’ve yet to come across a Social Media Agency that has anything useful to offer for my blog. The ‘no budget’ excuse is pretty offensive when you consider that the company in question wouldn’t work for their client for free.

Blogging is usually juggled with a work, social and family life, so what we post has to be really worth it to justify the hours behind the computer. A one-sided promo post just isn’t going to make it onto our sites.

It’s not all about the money or gifts, but commercially, bloggers need to understand the value of their online space. If a beauty brand invites you to for instance the thermal spas in France to discover the source of their products, that deserves a certain amount of quality coverage. To offer that same space to a SMA’s client who doesn’t have the decency to offer you some kind of experience of the brand is just crazy.

Let’s make SMAs work harder and see what they can do for us. Because really, everything we need as bloggers comes from brands and their PRs, so SMAs have very little benefit to us, unless they change their tactics.

Hear hear, all of you!I don’t want to succumb to the curse of the ‘great post’ comment but it is a great post with equally great comments so far!

In my experience, I have gotten into trouble with brands and PR’s for not posting about their products, and when I explain that I only blog about things I genuinely rate and not about things I don’t, they get all peeved and drop me from their lists! It’s petty and silly and disrespectful to bloggers and the medium in general. I still think that we are talked down to by the majority of PR’s/agencies in an ‘ah bless the bloggers’ kind of way. To them we’re an easy option for coverage/hits etc but hopefully they will wise up soon and surely posts like this will help. Keep up the ranting Jane!

as ever a well thought out and eloquent post and I agree with all the comments.

Social Media Agencies are usually run by people who know the least in this area and the no pay is very offensive.We have one just tell us what hashtags to use while watching a TV programme tonight – micro manage or what !

I so agree with you. While there are some agencies and PRs who really know how to work with bloggers effectively, there are a few who have no clue whatsoever. I have had a few experiences with so called Social Media Agencies and PRs that have left a lot to be desired. As you mentioned, some really do see us as a form of cheap or free advertising and expect us to exploit our integrity for a cheap free gift. The worse ones are the PRs who seem to possess no data segmentation skills and seem to think it is ok to blast irrelevant emails to every blogger on their database. They make me sick! It is not that easy to filter press releases so the right press release goes to the right blogger? Or even to adapt your CRM so the blogger is addressed by their name instead of ‘Dear Blogger or Internet person.’ It just pure laziness. You are not the first person to bring this up, not a month goes by without a PR or Social Media Agency getting a blogger’s back up. You would think they would take notice.

Totally agree. And imagine if the “toothbrush brand” approached the Social Media brand and said: “Guys, I’ve got some free toothbrushes – and you’re free to have them and use them – but all we ask in return is that your staff work for us for free and their hours are completed by X date.” It just wouldn’t happen, would it?

I’ve gotten lots of these recently too, and particularly the ‘We’ll write an article for your blog, it’ll just contain a dozen links to our website, m’kay?’

I write a blog because I like writing. I don’t need someone to generate content for me. I’m not sure if people realise that indiscriminate links out (and in – like the competitions that require a link to the blog/facebook/twitter etc) can all damage your google page rank if google perceives that your blog is being used as an SEO vehicle by SMAs.

You’d probably guess this anyway, but at the other end of the food chain companies that employ these promotional techniques get reports back from the agencies that they are paying. These often take the form of a ‘clippings file’. So your blog post or youtube video will be dutifully printed out, placed in a plastic folder and probably given a date and a reference number. It does look impressive to see 30 or 40 pages of ‘coverage’. The fact that many of the blog posts have nothing to do with promotional activity is quite amusing.

That some of the blog posts might have been read by fewer people than you would get sticking a postcard in newsagent’s window is not pointed out either. But its a numbers game rather than a quality game.

At the moment the people with the cheque books don’t really read blogs and don’t really understand what they are spending their money on.

A couple of blogs I know seem to have succumb to the ‘toothbrush’. Glowing reviews pop up of products that don’t fit in with the blog at all and they’re filled with buzz words. I’ve started unsubscribing and it’s really disappointing.Sponsered posts that have sponsered post written on the top of them, I can deal with that. I simply skip over them but I hate when the blogger tries to use their influence over us to make us buy crap that they wouldn’t buy themselves

This is getting even worse every day, and honestly spoken, it’s kind of really pi*** me of. It happens because of the kids that blog, they have no idea of “business” since mommy pays the bills; easy to blame them, I know – but if they accept this stuff, no use to ask for a pro blogger for payment.

The SMAa always say It is going to bring you a lot of traffic! Yes, but I have traffic.It is all about being taken serious as a media chanel, not only about money. This will not happen for beautyblogs, let me tell you that – I blog for 6 years now and really not a lot has changed. With the bloggers came the SMA, that’s all. A business opportunity did not really grow out of this.

Not in Germany at least. How many pro blogger do we have in germany that have a good income on it?! Well.